Denver Food Blog

Lori Midson

A shining sample of Lori's enviable photography skills

​We asked faithful (and ruthless) commenter Weege to recap this week's Cafe Society posts. Here's his offering:

Passion.

As the work week comes to a close, there can only be one truth to be held as self-evident. Westword has officially lost their minds.

So I give to you my snarky, ill-informed, completely misguided comments on the week that was. I will be the blog that all of humanity will await with bated breath -- or until I run out of breath, whichever comes first. No person shall be spared, except for Lori. She is my muse.

​Right, so I just received the following e-mail from Perky Cups, which, as you can gather from the note, is apparently a java joint -- maybe -- that employs bikini-clad females.

Lori,

Hello. We are Perky Cups. Denver/Auroras first Bikini Model Baristas coffee shop. We are having a grand opening Friday November 20th and Saturday November 21st, 2009.

We are located at 12101 E. Iliff Ave. Unit A Aurora, CO 80014, where the old Peaberry's use to be. We are open from 6am to 7pm M-F. Please come by and see us and have a Mocha on us!

Thank you,
Perky Cups!

I can only conclude that the discriminating folks at Perky Cups assumed I had the perky goods to pour a decent mocha; otherwise, the subject header of said e-mail -- ** Bikini Barista** TONS of TIP$ ** (Aurora) -- was nothing more than a cruel joke.

Happy Friday, kids.

​
Denver got a shout-out last week on the food blog www.seriouseats.com, which listed what they believe to be four unique food trends in our fair city. Our fast casual chains, microbreweries, green chile, and Beau Jo's all get mentions.

But while we appreciate that they resisted mentioning Rocky Mountain oysters, and that they recognized some good green chile, we have to ask: Are these really trends? Maybe when Frank Bonanno and Mark Dym start serving honey with their pizzas -- maybe then we can talk, but one pizza chain's predilection for pouring sweet goo on their crusts does not a trend make.

​The only thing better than a fabulous food scene on the big screen is a scene involving brutal, unabashed violence (True Romance, or anything Tarantino for that matter), or a fantastic food moment involving sex (9 1/2 Weeks, for example). But while some culinary scenes will leave you yearning to hump on the kitchen counter, others might make you swear off food forever. Scenes like these:

10. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1997)
Classic. The turkey is nearly carbonized, the chewing noises are atrocious, Uncle Eddie calls dibs on the neck, and Aunt Bethany puts cat food in the green Jell-O. Oh, Clark.

​Last night, Denver City Council unanimously approved a request by the Vine Street Pub that would alter the zoning code and allow the place to brew its own beer on site.

From here, the request will go to Mayor John Hickenlooper, possibly as early as Friday, says Paul Nashak, managing partner for the Mountain Sun string of breweries, which includes Vine Street at 1700 Vine Street. Nashak has been trying to get brewery approval since opening the restaurant in May 2008.

Mountain Sun plans to start out by brewing 3,500 barrels a year there, eventually movingup to 5,000 to 6,000.

​Vine Street Pub's Paul Nashak plans to raise a toast to Denver tonight if the city council approves his request for a zoning variance that would allow the brewery to make beer on-site.

A part of the Boulder-based Mountain Sun string of pubs, Vine Street has been open in Denver at 1700 Vine Street since May 2008 -- and has been trying to get brewery approval for just about as long. Nashak says his first attempt to get a zoning change failed because of neighbor concerns, but that this one should work.

The Sports Column is a Steelers bar. So that'll be fun next weekend.

​The World Series is in full swing, and although the Rockies didn't make it this year, just about every TV in every sports bar in town has been tuned to the match-up between the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies.

Fans of those two teams -- and there are plenty of them -- may not find comfort among the Rockies-loyal, but they can certainly find like-minded company at a couple of bars that cater to those from the Big Apple and City of Brotherly Love. And fans of plenty of other teams can find homes among Denver's bars too.

​ Celebrate a one-year-old's birthday with drinking and debauchery! The Tavern Wash Park turns one today, and is offering $1 Shock Top Belgian white beers and a complimentary buffet -- which will include the Tavern's always-popular Kobe beef sliders -- plus chances to win a gift card good at any Tavern Hospitality Group venue.

The party takes place from 5 to 9 p.m. at 1066 South Gaylord Street. For more info, call 303-226-1555 or visit www.tavernhg.com.

For information on dozens of culinary events around Colorado this week, go to our online Food & Drink listings.

​You could be surprised by who's at your service tonight at Celebrity Server Night at Maggiano's Little Italy, 500 16th Street.

If you purchase a table for ten, you can choose your celebrity server -- but if you buy tickets for a smaller group or an individual dinner ticket, you'll get to be surprised by who shows up with your grub. But we guarantee the surprise will be pleasant, since proceeds benefit Food Bank of the Rockies. Get details and reservations at 303-260-7727.

For information on dozens of current culinary events around Colorado, go to our online Food & Drink listings.

​Put your money where your mouth is tonight at the annual Simmer & Stir for the Cure, which runs from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Kimball Distributing, 1400 West Third Avenue. The $30 ticket gets you in the door for chef demonstrations, wine tastings and more; all proceeds will benefit breast-cancer research.
You can purchase tickets at any Tony's Market or at http://celebratingpink.com.

For information on dozens of culinary events around Colorado, go to our online Food & Drink listings.

​ Head over to Robert Thompson's Argyll GastroPub, 2700 East Third Avenue, at 7 p.m. tonight for a five-course wine dinner featuring an array of truly decadent dishes paired with the perfect wines. Menu items include Goose Point oysters, a peach-and-goat-cheese tart, smoked trout, autumn salad, monkfish, lamb chops and a chocolate raspberry trifle. (Check out the full menu at www.argyllpub.com. )

The tab is $65 (not including tax or gratuity); make your reservations at 720-382-1117.

For information on dozens of culinary events around Colorado, go to our online Food & Drink listings.

​The staffers at Lenny's Sub Shop at 726 Lincoln Street watch a lot of traffic roll by their windows every day, especially at rush hour, when that traffic rolls very slowly.

So what did these enterprising sandwich makers do? They set up a little curbside stand where a Lenny's employee will hand off sub orders to anyone who calls ahead. The only problem: after two weeks, they have yet to see a customer there.

But no matter: The Lenny's crew is too upbeat to care. Besides, the manager believes she'll start seeing some business eventually, especially in the mornings, since Lenny's offers a wide range of breakfast sandwiches.

Lenny's a large Tennessee-based chain with only four spots in the metro area, but the Lincoln Street outpost is only one with a curbside stand - basically a rolling valet stand with a sign. And while some restaurant chains, like Ruby Tuesday and Outback Steakhouse, have offered curbside service for a while, most of those have a parking lot.

Lenny's, on the other hand, has a single parking meter out in front where the stand is set up, and if the curbside service eventually takes off, it could be a real traffic stopper.

​Moe's Original Bar B Que is celebrating its first anniversary tonight with Alabama barbeque and Mountain Jam, a tribute to the Allman Brothers with members of Great American Taxi, the Motet and Adam Stern Trio.

This Moe's, in the former Falcon at 3295 South Broadway, is the second location in a small chain started by Mike Fernandez, Ben Gilbert and Jeff Kennedy. Moe's specializes in "Bama Style Bar-B-Que," a mixture of Memphis red barbeque and Carolina vinegar; today, they'll be serving up their white mayo and applewood-smoked barbeque with drink specials that include $2.50 PBR cans and $5 Maker's.

The show is 16 and up, doors open at 8:30 p.m., and the concert starts at 9 p.m.; $7 tickets can be purchased online or at the door. Before the show, Moe's will offer $5 bowling on its eight lanes, right by the pool tables. For more information, click here.

​What you might have missed this week on Cafe Society while you were carefully crafting your kick-ass crush letter telling us all about your favorite Denver dive-bar:

Lobby American Grille general manager Cory Sylvester got more than be bargained for on Tuesday night when a couple of thugs roaming the alley roughed him up bad enough to send him off to the hospital. (He's fine).

Jason Sheehan freely admits, right here in print, that Jonathan Safran's Eating Animals nearly converted him to (gasp!) a vegetarian. Yeah, right.

In another surprise move, Sheehan announced to the foodosphere that he's heading back to the kitchen, for one night only, when he'll cook at Mezcal, all because there's going to be cameras in his face. Wait, you haven't heard about Sheehan's TV show?

Lori Midson doesn't have any upcoming telly appearances on her schedule, but she did a chat and chew interview with Frank Bonanno, exec chef-owner of Bones, Luca d'Italia, Mizuna and Osteria Marco.

Midson also reports on the really cool Black Angus steer program that Panzano chef Elise Wiggins is undertaking -- and the cooking class where she cooked some of the beef from those steers.

Drink of the week columnist Nancy Levine gets to the meat of the matter with Fago de Chao bartender Caleb Whitmore, whose drink of choice is...grappa. Whoa.

You won't find any grappa at Denver Diner, Davies Chuck Wagon Diner or any other damn diner in Denver, but you fill find Sheehan's natural habitat.

Is this the best dive bar in Denver?

​Last week we asked for your favorite dive (among the nominees: El Chapultepec, Lancer Lounge, Squire, PS Lounge, BarBar, Berkeley, Charlie Brown's Lion's Lair). Now it's time to prove your devotion: Write a love letter/tribute to your favorite dive bar, professing sincere fidelity to its wood paneling and nicotine-stained ceiling tiles; its five-plays-for-a-buck jukebox and pain-med-dispensing vending machine; its stiff pours and loose staff that inspire you to vomit into your own hands every time you visit. This time, with feeling. Send your essay -- which can be between 50 and 500 words-- to drunk@westword.com by 11:59 p.m. October 23.

The best essay -- as chosen by a cadre of dive-bar lovers -- will be published in our November 5 issue; the runners-up will be invited to read their work at the official release party celebrating Drunk of the Week columnist Drew Bixby's new book, Denver's Best Dive Bars: Drinking and Diving in the Mile-High City. Top three submissions also snag a free copy of the book.

Dive in.

Bananas kick off the Gorilla Run.

​Halloween is always a big day at the Wynkoop Brewing Co., because the pub celebrates its birthday that day (it's 21 years old this year) and because of the annual Denver Gorilla Run, a 5.6K race in which everyone dresses up as a gorilla and raises money to support the Denver-based Mountain Gorilla Conservation Fund.

But this year's celebration will have a couple of added benefits.

​The Rackhouse Pub is slated to open next week with a slightly pared-down beer menu, but a seriously cool look.

Located inside the former Heavenly Daze Brewery, at 200 South Kalamath Street, the Rackhouse will feature twenty tap handles (mostly Colorado microbrews), rather than the fifty that had been originally planned, along with a full menu, a pool table and other bar games.

​Anyone can hand out candy at a Halloween party. But you'll be the talk of your block if you hand out spooky, homemade treats.The Kitchen Table, 5373 Landmark Place #105 in Greenwood Village, is hosting a Halloween Party Treats specialty class from 6:30 to 9 p.m. tonight. Cody Knopf will teach attendees how to make food so delicious, it's downright scary. Tuition is $55; you can sign up at www.kitchentablegv.com.

To see our complete culinary calendar, go to our online Food & Drink listings at westword.com.

Courtesy of www.komar.org

Rockies fan Kyle Komarnitsky enjoys a gluten-free hot dog.

​While cheering the Rockies on to victory tomorrow at Coors Field, why not check out the stadium's newest and most unusual concession location: the gluten-free stand behind Section 147 on the left-field concourse (near the in-stadium playground). Believed to be the first of its kind in Major League Baseball, the operation offers dogs, burgers, chicken sandwiches and a variety of munchies all without gluten, that pesky particle found in wheat, barley and rye that causes serious health problems for those with Celiac eisease.

So it's good for the gluten-free crowd -- but what about the rest of us? Is it still worth a visit?

​
Some people just can't get enough pork. If you're one of those people, head to Cook Street School of Fine Cooking, 1937 Market Street, for "Pleasures of the Pig." The dinner, originally scheduled for October 9, has been moved to October 23, and will feature cider-glazed pork shoulder, potatoes lyonnaise with house-smoked bacon, pork confit and other pig-infused delicacies. The meal costs $59; book your spot by calling 303-308-9300.

To find information and updates on many more culinary events, go to the Food & Drink section of our online calendar</a>.

This sign should be coming down soon.

​Tavern Congress Park, a new bar and restaurant planned for the former Neighborhood Flix Cinema & Cafe inside the Lowenstein complex (2510 East Colfax), will be the next in a series of outlets run by Denver's Tavern Hospitality Group -- which also owns the Soiled Dove, the Cowboy Lounge and five other Tavern locations around town.

But Tavern group co-owner Frank Schultz also plans to include an events center that he can rent out for weddings, banquets, parties and other special events, which is why he is applying to have the Flix liquor license converted into all all-ages cabaret license that will allow dancing. A liquor license hearing is scheduled for October 30.

​Once you're done carving that awesome jack-o-lantern, what the hell do you do with the insides? The Kitchen Table Cooking School, at 5375 Landmark Place in Greenwood Village, has the answer: pumpkin custard tarts, pumpkin chocolate-chip brownies and pumpkin roulade cake. Learn how to make all of them tonight at "The Whole Pumpkin and Nothing But the Pumpkin." Tuition is $55 and the class runs from 6:30 to 9 p.m.; for more info, visit www.kitchentablegv.com.

To find information and updates on many more culinary events, go to the Food & Drink section of our online calendar.

Lindsay McNicholas explains the produce offered at Smith Elementary.

​The playground at Smith Elementary becomes quite crowded on Thursday afternoons. That's when parents, teachers, students and community members gather to purchase fresh organic vegetables and fruits. The sales are designed to raise money to start a community garden -- but they also educate students on the importance of locally grown foods and the nutrients they provide.

Every week, Lindsay McNicholas, the resource advocate for Smith, drives to the Slow Food Denver storeroom, where Andy Nowak has a truckload of vegetables donated from different Colorado farms. our local farms are represented at Smith's market: Brighton Berry Patch, Palombo, Ela Family Farms and Forte Farms. There are usually ten types of produce available, all inexpensive. Palisade peaches go for 50 cents each, three ears of corn sell for $1, and broccoli heads are a bargain at 25 cents each.

​
Teri Fahrendorf doesn't just create beer, she created a movement: the Pink Boots Society, a non-profit organization for women who make a living off of beer. "Server, bartender, brewer, lab worker and so much more," she says of her group's membership. "If you make a profit, you can be one of us."

A few years back, Fahrendorft, who's been a brewer for two decades, took a five-month road trip across the country, visiting breweries and distilleries and wearing her trademark pink boots. "I had wanted pink rubber boots because my fellow brewers, who were men, wore black, and I wanted to bring some femininity, she explains. "So I thought pink; you can't get more feminine than that."

Brewers noted those boots. And Fahrendorft noted that a question she was often asked: "How many other women brewers were out there?" She decided to make a list of every female brewer, and their contact information. The next question: How to share it across the country?

Justin Wadstein's got his pie in the sky.

​The Festival Italiano at Belmar, which took place this past Saturday and Sunday, has quickly become one of the best festivals in Denver.

Not only was there great food and wine, as well as very little shlock for sale, fewer stroller and dogs, and lower temperatures (September beat August hands down when it comes to weather), but the Italian extravaganza offered some truly different activities that made a visit worthwhile.

Even better, it offered stuff for both kids and adults, and kept everyone happy.

For the adults, there were the wine seminars and tastings, the chef demos and Italian lessons; for the kids, there was grape stomping (Balistreri Vineyards makes wine every year from it, called Little Feet Merlot), face painting and story tellers; for both, there was terrific food, a bocce ball tournament, chalk art, Sinatra singers, traditional Italian flag throwing and Justin Wadstein, the world champion pizza dough tosser, who did amazing things with wads of flour and water.​

And although the weeks leading up to the festival involved a bit of a pizza dispute (which you can read about here), the food was terrific. The line for sausage sandwiches served up by Polidori was half a block long, but the other vendors were serving up some mean grub as well, including Italian egg rolls, deep dish pizza, meatball sandwiches, and my favorite, sausage on a stick.

Oh, and don't forget the cannoli!

The sausage on a stick came from Nonna's Chicago Bistro, 6603 Leetsdale Drive, and it went perfectly with some bocce ball cheering. Oddly, however, the Oven, the Neapolitan style pizza place in Belmar, didn't appear to have a cart out in the festival. Granted, the restaurant is right in the thick of things, but it was getting almost no business inside.

Next year, I'd suggest the Oven get Wadstein in there. Oh, and pizza on a stick wouldn't hurt.

What you might have missed this week while eating peaches and honey with a steak knife...

Anika Zappe, bartender at Root Down, told us about her favorite drinks and least favorite customers.

Cheers!  We learned a second Toast location will open next month in Cherry Creek.

Chef Mark Dym of Marco's Coal-Fired Pizza dished about his most embarrassing moment in the kitchen and let us in on the weirdest thing he's ever eaten.

Pete Marczyk made magic with mushrooms.

Our Candy Girls ate innocent Pumpkin Spice Kisses, while the other Candy Girls showed us their cannabis-infused goodies.

​Cheba Hut raised a toasty toast this week when a Weld County District Court judge overturned a ruling that had denied a liquor license to the sub shop's Greeley location.

In April, Robert Frick, who rules on Greeley liquor licenses, turned down the company's request, citing Cheba Hut's pot-related marketing strategy, and spanking it with this: "This restaurant is founded upon the principles and theme of the illegal drug marijuana and incorporates other illegal controlled-substance-related themes."

Lori Midson

Wouldn't these tables look better with beers on top?

​

Cross your fingers for Eder Yanez-Mota, the owner of Chili Verde, the spot at 3700 Teon Street that's been cooking up southern Mexican cuisine for a few months now. He opened the restaurant without a liquor license, but all that could change after tomorrow morning's hearing with the Denver Department of Excise and Licenses.

What you might have missed while hurling a No-Bake Love Cake in Sandra Lee's face...

Jason Sheehan asked readers what foods our fair city is missing.

We gained a few, we lost a few: check out the restaurant roll call for August.

We learned Sean Kenyon, bartender at Steuben's, has had some very, um, interesting cocktail requests.

Lori Midson chatted with Tyler Wiard, chef at Elway's, and found out the one food he despises.

We got a little grossed out by the top 10 worst burger ideas ever.

We thought the kid biting a raw fish should definitely win most delicious food magazine cover.

We got dispatches from the first days on the job as a sous chef.

​A month away from the fifteenth anniversary of the family business, Firehouse Subs CEO Robin Sorensen and his team were in their Thornton store this week after a tour of future Front Range locations, from Fort Collins to Highlands Ranch.

I met them at 10060 Grant Street in Thornton, at what's now the Jacksonville, Florida-based chain's only Colorado outpost, a conservatively decorated space with white-washed, red-trimmed walls and tile behind the counter that reflects the fluorescents almost as loudly as the staff, who chorused, "Welcome to Firehouse!" as soon as I walked in the door.

At 2 p.m., the restaurant was still half full from lunch. Sorensen stood when he saw me, towering over everyone else and looking every bit like he'd been cut from the firefighting family cloth. What began as a business plan sketched on a then-competitor's napkin turned into Firehouse Subs, founded in 1994 by Robin and his brother Chris.

With a family legacy of 200 years of combined firefighting service, Sorensen explained that the company tries to give back to every community where they are located. The firefighting memorabilia that hangs on the walls of the 375 stores across the country is either bought from local firehouses or donated in exchange for new equipment.